Spaceflight Now
U.S. military tracking unguided re-entry of large Chinese rocketby Stephen Clark
A Chinese rocket measuring around 100 feet long that launched earlier this month will likely plunge back into Earth’s atmosphere some time Monday, becoming the most massive object in decades to fall out of orbit in an uncontrolled manner.The core stage of China’s Long March 5B rocket is expected to fall back to Earth unguided after nearly a week in orbit. The Long March 5B rocket launched May 5 with a prototype for a next-generation Chinese crew capsule.As of Saturday, the rocket stage was circling Earth in an elliptical orbit ranging between 94 miles (152 kilometers) and 167 miles (270 kilometers) in altitude, according to U.S. military tracking data. A prediction issued Saturday by the U.S. military, which tracks objects in orbit, forecasts the rocket’s re-entry in a 24-hour period between 2335 GMT (7:35 p.m. EDT) Sunday...

Firefighters continue battling fires in Florida PanhandleHouston Chronicle
MILTON, Fla. (AP) — Florida firefighters were working to hold containment lines around a 2,000-acre (809-hectare) fire in the state's Panhandle, where winds were expected to shift Friday and push it toward homes.The firebreak was about a half-mile from a neighborhood, officials said. While no evacuations have been issued, they urged residents to be ready to leave their homes should they be given the word to do so.“People should be prepared and be ready,” said Ludie Bond, a spokeswoman for the Florida Forest Service.Daniel Felder escaped flames Wednesday when the fire invaded his neighborhood near Milton, Florida, where fire crews were staging to combat the fire from a church parking lot.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/Firefighters-continue-battling-fires-in-Florida-15256559.php...

Al Monitor
Kurdish And Coalition Forces Target Islamic State In Eastern Syria
by Al Monitor Staff
The operation comes at a time of recent IS attacks in Syria and Iraq.
Kurdish-led and international coalition forces raided Islamic State (IS) positions yesterday in eastern Syria — a site of recent IS activity.The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out an operation in Deir ez-Zor on Wednesday night. They were supported by Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, the official name of the US-led international coalition against IS in Syria and Iraq. The raid led to the arrest of an IS fighter, the coalition spokesman Col. Myles Caggins said on Twitter today.The coalition supports the multiethnic SDF, which is led by the Kurdish group the People’s Protection Units (YPG), but also includes Arab and Syriac Christian divisions. The SDF said the arrested IS fighter was being questioned. The operation took place in a...

Wall Street Journal
Coronavirus Has Changed Everything for Police Across the Country
By Zusha Elinson
Officers enforce social distancing with drones, quarantine at home after shifts and grieve colleagues who died of Covid-19
SANTA ROSA, Calif.—On a recent evening here, Sgt. Michael Clark urged caution when enforcing a new face mask requirement for residents to the 10 officers circled around him in what the police department now uses as a briefing room: the parking lot.“If it’s something where you’re trying to educate somebody, there’s no violation of law, and they’re not wanting to wear their mask, then remove yourself from the situation,” said the 47-year-old sergeant, who was wearing a blue mask that matched his uniform and standing 6 feet...
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-has-changed-everything-for-police-across-the-country-11588843801...

DHS moving biometrics database to Amazon Cloud
by John Bowden
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun the process of migrating the nation's biometric information database to the Amazon Cloud as part of a new system updating the federal government's decades-old database.A privacy impact assessment drafted by DHS officials in February and first reported upon its publication this week by Nextgov indicated that the project will consist of four phases, with the majority of the government's existing database being migrated to cloud-based storage in the first phase.The time frame for such a task was not clear, but will mean that information such as facial recognition data, fingerprints, Social Security numbers and other identifying information will soon be hosted on Amazon's cloud-based service.
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/technology/496624-dhs-moving-biometrics-database-to-amazon-cloud...

Press Release April 30, 2020
ODNI News Release No. 11-20Intelligence Community Statement on Origins of COVID-19WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Office of the Director of National Intelligence today issued the following Intelligence Community (IC) statement:“The entire Intelligence Community has been consistently providing critical support to U.S. policymakers and those responding to the COVID-19 virus, which originated in China. The Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.“As we do in all crises, the Community’s experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security. The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.”
Source: https://www.odni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/item/2112-intelligence-community-statement-on-origins-of-covid-19
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Turkey hits Daesh in counterterrorism efforts, arrests 76 members
Daily Sabah
As one of the countries that gave the greatest struggle against the Daesh terrorist organization and became its target several times, Turkey continues its efforts to combat the group with successful domestic operationsTurkish security forces dealt a heavy blow to the Daesh terrorist organization in the first four months of the year with a series of successful domestic counterterrorism operations in which 354 suspects were detained and 76 were arrested including high-level members.According to information compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA), police, gendarmerie and border forces have detained 354 suspects, and seized several documents, weapons and ammunition from the terrorist organization. Some of the 76 arrested terrorists were deported while the legal proceedings of others continue.The security officials arrested five foreign nationals preparing for a terror attack in the capital Ankara on New Year's Eve; four of them were sent...

Brookline To Test Coronavirus Antibodies Among First Responders
YAHOO!
Jenna Fisher, Patch
BROOKLINE, MA —Brookline is set to give antibody tests to first responders and a select number of people in town who haven't had symptoms of the coronavirus next week in an effort to shed light on the extent of impact the virus has had on Brookline.As of May 5, some 508 Brookline residents have reportedly tested positive for the virus and 33 people have died here. Health officials say that it's likely many more have contracted the virus, but are asymptomatic.Antibody testing helps to identify how widespread the coronavirus has spread undetected within the community, and can clarify for public health and medical professionals how many people have contracted the virus without developing symptoms of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.
Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/brookline-test-coronavirus-antibodies-among-211755566.html...

The Telegraph
Convicted Terrorist Wins First Round Of Legal Battle Against Government Ban On Early Release From Prison
A judge has ruled that the Government's ban on early release of terrorists may be a breach of their human rights
By Charles Hymas, Home Affairs Editor
A Sunderland shopkeeper jailed for encouraging terrorism has won the first stage of a legal battle to overturn new rules barring terror offenders from being released early from prison.Lawyers for Mohammed Zahir Khan, who tweeted support for Islamic State (ISIL) and called for "death to Shias" say the emergency laws introduced by Justice Secretary Robert Buckland breach his human rights.It is the first legal appeal against the Government decision to force some 50 convicted terrorists who had been due to be freed automatically halfway through their sentences to serve at least two thirds before a parole board decides if they are safe to release.
Read...

Fire Rescue 1
Treasury secretary says first responders could receive COVID-19 hazard payU.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said a fourth stimulus package could include hazard pay for those on the front lines of the crisis
By Laura FrenchWASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that hazard pay for first responders could be included in future legislation to address the COVID-19 national health emergency.Mnuchin told CNN Monday that his department has not yet begun work on a fourth stimulus package, as it works to implement the third package passed by the Senate last week, but that hazard pay for first responders and healthcare workers is “definitely something we will put in the next bill.”
Read more: https://www.firerescue1.com/legislation-funding/articles/treasury-secretary-says-first-responders-could-receive-covid-19-hazard-pay-nXri7X54WNfZQrNj/...

KABC-TV
How coronavirus pandemic will impact firefighting this wildfire season in California
This fire season, firefighters in California will face a unique challenge: responding to a disaster while also trying to protect themselves from a pandemic."We can have one large incident in California that can have up to six, maybe seven thousand personnel assigned," CalFire deputy director Mike Mohler told AccuWeather.This year, how those large groups travel, eat and sleep will likely be much different to reduce the risk of firefighters catching or spreading COVID-19.Officials with the National Interagency Fire Center and CalFire say they're ready, both sharing new recommendations to keep firefighters spaced apart when possible."We will do everything we can in our power to maybe have multiple base camps to spread the people assigned to [each fire]," Mohler said.
Read more: https://abc7.com/how-coronavirus-pandemic-will-impact-firefighting-this-wildfire-season/6150015/...

Asharq Al-Awsat
Iraq Launches Operation To Pursue ISIS Elements After Recent Attacks
Baghdad- Fadhel al-NashmiIraqi security forces began Sunday large-scale military operations to purse ISIS remnants.This military campaign comes in response to the recent attacks launched by the terrorist organization in a number of Iraqi regions, in which security personnel and elements from the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) were killed.According to the semi-official Al-Iraqiya TV channel, the operations were launched in line with orders by Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and focused on the outskirts of Salah al-Din province and the west of Diyala and Anbar provinces.Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in Mosul city said some merchants have recently complained about the ISIS elements again imposing royalties on them.This brings to mind the group's blackmail and the imposition of royalties on the city's merchants and riches before seizing it in June 2014.
Read more: https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2266751/iraq-launches-operation-pursue-isis-elements-after-recent-attacks...

Tampa Bay Times
Policing in the time of coronavirus: Tampa Bay cops share their stories
Coronavirus has carved out a new set of challenges and duties for police officers and sheriff’s deputies on patrol.
By Kathryn VarnThe man hadn’t heard from his stepmother, who checked in with him every morning. So he called the police, hoping they could swing by.Clearwater patrol Sgt. Meg Hasty arrived at the home that March morning. She and her partner found locked doors, pulled shades, a full mailbox and a Hello Fresh meal kit out front, full of perishable food.
The officers stood in the driveway, trying to figure out whether to force their way inside. They knew from the stepson that the woman wasn’t feeling well. They also knew that a frightening virus was rapidly spreading all over the world, with hundreds of new cases every day in Florida.Hasty was already wearing gloves for...

SNJ Today
UV Decontamination Devices Distributed To First Responders
By: SNJ Today Staff
CAMDEN, N.J. — As part of efforts to help first responders decontaminate vehicles and equipment to protect themselves and those they serve, officials distributed ultraviolet light systems to the Camden County Police Department and Cooper University Health Care along with a host of other public safety agencies.The Camden County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) gave the agencies UV-C lights which emit electromagnetic radiation that breaks apart and kills microbials like the virus that causes COVID-19; and can be used to decontaminate emergency vehicles. First responders from throughout the county will be able to utilize the UV-C lamps to keep their vehicles decontaminated and safe for emergency personnel.“This technology allows our police, EMTs and firefighters to safely decontaminate their vehicles on a regular basis, keeping themselves and our residents safe as they perform the critical function of responding...

Associated Press
IS extremists step up as Iraq, Syria, grapple with virus
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, BASSEM MROUE and SAMYA KULLAB
BAGHDAD (AP) — The man wearing an explosive vest emerged from a car and calmly marched toward the gates of the intelligence building in Iraq’s northern city of Kirkuk. When he ignored their shouts to halt, guards opened fire, and he blew himself up, wounding three security personnel in the first week of Ramadan.Days later, a three-pronged coordinated attack killed 10 Iraqi militia fighters in the northern province of Salahaddin — the deadliest and most complex operation in many months.The assaults are the latest in a resurgence of attacks by the Islamic State group in northern Iraq. The first was a brazen suicide mission not seen in months. The second was among the most complex attacks since the group’s defeat in 2017. In neighboring Syria, IS attacks on security forces,...

Boston 25 News
Andover firefighters extinguish 5 trucks engulfed in flames
ANDOVER, Mass. — Andover firefighters responded to Lowell Junction Road where four dump trucks and an oil tanker truck were engulfed in flames Friday night.Shortly after 7 p.m., Andover fire officials responded to numerous 911 calls of an explosion at 46 Lowell Junction Road. The four dump trucks on fire were blocking access to the oil tanker truck that was also in flames. They knocked out the fire at 7:36 p.m., according to Andover Fire chief Michael B. Mansfield.“I commend the firefighters who first arrived on scene for getting the fire under control,” Chief Mansfield said.
“They used a massive water stream -- what we refer to as a blitz attack -- to get the fire contained as quickly as possible, which prevented any further environmental damage to the site. This could have been a much worse situation had...

Asharq Al-Awsat
Exclusive - New Secrets Revealed About Bin Laden’s Years In Sudan
Khartoum – Mohammed Amin Yassine“I will leave, but you won’t solve your problems with the Americans.” These were the parting words of al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, as he boarded a military plane that flew him out of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to the mountains of Tora Bora in Afghanistan in 1996. Bin Laden, who was killed exactly nine years ago, never expected to be expelled by a fundamentalist regime that had adopted a hardline Islamic ideology opposed to the West and Americans. His prediction did come true, however. A year after he left Sudan, Washington imposed economic sanctions against the country.Seven years before his expulsion, Sudan had fallen into the hands of the National Islamic Front, also known as the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1970s, after a military coup on June 30, 1989. The coup was...

Associated Press
SEALs Tried To Locate US Citizen Taken By Afghan Militants
By JAMES LAPORTA and ERIC TUCKER
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the days following the January capture of an American contractor in Afghanistan, Navy SEAL commandos raided a village and detained suspected members of a Taliban-linked militant network, The Associated Press has learned.U.S. intelligence agents also tried to track the cellphones of the man and his captors, but the trail went cold. There has been little public discussion by the U.S. government of Mark R. Frerichs’ case, even as American negotiators arranged prisoner exchanges as part of their efforts to reach a peace deal with the Taliban.Little is known about the circumstances surrounding the abduction of the contractor from Illinois. But the previously unreported operation, described by multiple U.S. officials over the past month, sheds new light on the American government’s efforts to locate him soon after he went...

AZCentral.com
5,000 Valley police and firefighters getting free COVID-19 antibody testing this week
by Jamie Landers, Arizona Republic
The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association and United Phoenix Firefighters Association are doing broad COVID-19 antibody testing in Phoenix, Glendale and Tempe for local first responders this week.About 5,000 first responders will be given antibody testing to determine if they have been exposed to COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus,even if they were asymptomatic.It's the largest COVID-19 antibody testing effort for police and firefighters in metro Phoenix so far, and data from the results may help paint a picture of how widespread or not the transmission of the disease has been in that community.
Read more: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2020/04/28/first-responders-free-covid-19-antibody-testing/3042697001/...